‘New Deal’ offers hope for education

The Education
Forum's A New Deal is packed with the evidence and good
sense needed to reform education in New Zealand, says Maxim
Institute, senior education analyst, Paul
Henderson.

“Transparency and freedom are at the paper's
heart. It draws on research from overseas, illustrating
successful alternative models for compulsory schooling. A
New Deal rightly wants parents to be able to make real
choices for their children.”

A New Deal calls for the
abolition of school zoning ("the Berlin Wall of education")
and recommends a funding mechanism which follows pupils no
matter whether they attend public, private, not-for-profit,
for-profit, community or church schools.

Paul Henderson
says the call for more freedom for schools cannot be
ignored. “It suggests that schools be funded in cash and
left to determine how best to spend it. Teachers should have
a more generous and flexible pay scheme, allowing good
teachers to be rewarded.”

For transparency's sake, the
Education Forum proposes a system of national testing be
introduced in state primary schools, concentrating initially
on literacy and numeracy. A New Deal also suggests schools
make available to parents information such as: tests scores,
qualifications available, student attendance rates,
graduation rates, the mission and philosophy of the school,
statistics on suspensions and qualifications of teachers.
Such information would help parents decide where to send
their children.

“A New Deal is important. It raises
questions about the freedom of parents to choose an
education suitable for their children and about the
effectiveness of the current one-size-fits all schooling
model.”

“The Education Forum is to be commended for
advancing what New Zealand children deserve: an education
system which is genuinely based on choice, opportunity and
equity,” says Paul
Henderson.

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